Negotiation

Prepare, position, interest, trade off

Decide what you will trade before somebody asks you to.

Preparing for a negotiation.

Intent · Application framework · No. 151

The shape

Desired outcome
Position
Interest
Acceptable trade off

Why that order

Deciding the trade off in the room means deciding it under pressure, which is how people give away the thing they cared about to protect the thing they did not.

A worked example

Desired outcome: Contract renewal.
Position: Maintain the current rate.
Interest: Predictable service.
Trade off: Accept a longer contract in exchange for price stability.

Mostly serves Intent, and reaches into Message.

A framework tells you what shape the answer takes. It cannot tell you whether shape is what you are short of, and for most people it is not. Which one is yours, and whether a framework is the right instrument at all, is what a Discovery Call is for.

Take the Assessment

Or read the whole glossary first.